On Wednesday, President Donald Trump lashed out at our lax immigration laws, going so far as to call some of the violent criminals who were trying to cross our border — especially members of the MS-13 gang — animals.

As far as I was concerned, that seemed pretty appropriate. Trump even chided the press for making a big deal out of it: “I’m referring, and you know I’m referring, to the MS-13 gangs that are coming in,” he said.

They did probably know, but that didn’t stop them from writing headlines that implied Trump called all illegal immigrants “animals.” Here’s just a small sample.

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The New York Times: “Trump Defends ‘Animals’ Remark, Saying It Referred to MS-13 Gang Members.” Yes, even though they knew what he meant, they still introduced an element of doubt.

Vox: “Trump on deported immigrants: ‘They’re not people. They’re animals.’” Context eludes Ezra Klein’s army of writers, at least when it suits them.

ThinkProgress: “Trump did call non-criminal immigrants ‘animals.'” Finally: a headline that definitively proves both words in the website’s title to be shabby lies.

The most biscuit-taking response to this whole non-issue had to come from Ana Navarro, however. Most of you know her as the woman who apparently used to be a Republican strategist but now just comes on TV to screech about the perfidies of Trump.

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She had a hot take on the “animals” quote, because of course she did. And, to make things even better, it involved both Nazis and slaveholders.

Trump is in very bad company.Nazis referred to Jews as “rats”.Slave-owners viewed slaves as sub-human animals. https://t.co/HMXDWSrNRu

Do you think Ana Navarro is a hypocrite?

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100% (220 Votes)

0% (0 Votes)

Yes, apparently, if you call anyone an animal — no matter what they’ve done — you’re some sort of moral admixture between Martin Bormann and Calvin Candie. Nobody who ever calls anyone an animal, even if they’re a brutal murderer, deserves a place in the public arena.

Should Donald Trump drop out of the race? Yes. He should drop out of the human race.

Yes, apparently, Navarro thinks Trump is lower than an animal and should drop out of the human race. So, by her own standards, she’s apparently no better than a Nazi or a slave owner.

Now, it’s worth pointing out that her standards are beyond ridiculous. I don’t believe Navarro is either a Nazi or an antebellum plantation owner, the same way that I don’t believe she’s is a particularly insightful CNN panelist. However, this kind of hyperbole proves exactly who Navarro is: a person who reflexively attacks Trump or Republicans in the strongest terms possible without any regard to consistency or hypocrisy.

Oh, and by the way — there are people who are animals. If you’re an MS-13 gang member who’s decapitated and beaten people and flooded the streets with drugs and guns, yes, I think I’m entitled to call you an animal. There’s a place in every heart for change and forgiveness if one gives themselves over to God, but until that happens I’m perfectly comfortable calling murderous gang members animals without thinking of myself as a Nazi or a slave owner.

Ironically, Trump hasn’t ever killed anyone. He’s never been convicted of a felony in court. What he’s done is said some stupid things from time to time, some of which has been caught on video. If Navarro has a problem calling MS-13 members animals but thinks that the “Access Hollywood” tape puts Trump on a level lower than animals, this is a woman who needs to seriously check her priorities.

C. Douglas Golden is a writer who splits his time between the United States and Southeast Asia. Specializing in political commentary and world affairs, he's written for Conservative Tribune and The Western Journal for four years.

C. Douglas Golden is a writer who splits his time between the United States and Southeast Asia. Specializing in political commentary and world affairs, he's written for Conservative Tribune and The Western Journal for four years. Aside from politics, he enjoys spending time with his wife, literature (especially British comic novels and modern Japanese lit), indie rock, coffee, Formula One and football (of both American and world varieties).